lower incidence of diabetes

Actually, the Pima Indians who still live in Mexico do have a much lower incidence of diabetes because they are still following their traditional patterns of eating and getting plenty of exercise as they carry out their daily lives -- this group is only one of the many, many idigenous groups living in Mexico. Many of the indigenous groups still maintain their traditional diets and get plenty of exercise just living their daily lives. For example, there are lots of them who walk many, many miles each day to bring their items to market and then repeat that walk when the work day is over.

As for the higher incidence of diabetes being seen in Mexico, I believe it is related very much to the type of food now being "desired" and eaten by many Mexicans. Having lived in Mexico for several years, I saw the proliferation of many of the same foods that have become problems in the US making their way into Mexico and replacing the traditional Mexican diet. Believe it or now, there are now Taco Bells in Mexico - yuck! So instead of the traditional whole grain corn tortillas, beans, leaner and grass-fed meats and cage-free poultry, people are now getting lots of fried, high sodium, low-fiber, high-fat foods. Whereas in the US, our "Mexican" food is often buried in high-fat yellow cheese, the enchilada in Mexico is usually cooked in a vegetable-based sauce with a very small amount of cheese (often no cheese) as a garnish. And this is usually a fresh, crumbly cheese -- "yellow" cheese is not found in true Mexican cuisine. And in Mexico, if you asked for a "burrito" in the past, they would bring you a "little donkey." Nowadays, I am sure many younger Mexicans will recognize it as a deep-fat fried large-size tortilla made of refined flour (flour tortillas were orginally only found in the extreme northern areas of Mexico) and stuffed with a large amount of fatty ground beefand high-fat cheese.

Convenience foods are also popular now in Mexico - in the cities, not as many people have maids any longer and many women now work outside the home so they want something they see as easy to prepare. Plus there is again the desire to show that they can afford this type of food as it usually costs more than the traditional foods of the country. You also see more overweight people in Mexico nowadays than in the past, and I remember reading that Mexicans drink more Coca-Cola per capita than any other country.

In our own past history, I liken this to the time when people switched from healthy whole-grain breads to the soft, white variety. Since the wealthy were the first to have this soft type of bread, it became a desire on the part of those in the lower socio-economic classes to one day be able to afford this soft bread (which was, of course, virtually void of nutrition). This would show others that they were "successful" and able to buy what the upper classes were buying.

I am in agreement with Donna Moro when she talks about "frankenfoods" being a big part of the increase in diabetes along with modern means of transportation which means most of us no longer get the exercise our ancestors did, more leisure time which means for many more time to vege out in front of the TV (and we don't even have to move off the couch to change channels anymore!), computer, etc. Of course, it is our responsibility to eat right, get exercise, etc. but, as someone has mentioned, we need to educate, educate, educate -- many will not listen or change their behaviors but perhaps a few will be saved from developing the diseases of modern society brought about our diet and lifestyles.

Just one final comment as food for thought -- just a short time ago, I was working as childrens librarian in our local public library, but all of the degreed librarians also worked at the reference desk. It was enlightening to me to see that the kids in the library would often call each other on their cell phones instead of walking a few feet to talk -- and our main library room was not that large. A few calories here and there and pretty soon, you are putting on too many pounds.

Theresa